Jadwane - Moul Enniya Kairbe7

Here's a very nice album by Jadwane (usually spelled Jedwane, usually billed as Orchestre Jedwane). El Mokhtar Jedwane is a chaâbi singer and composer from Rabat. Quite popular in the 90s and 00s, Jedwane retired from chaâbi in 2008 after making the Hajj to Mecca. [1]

Jedwane's style of chaâbi is of a very different variety than that of Said Ould el Houate which I presented last week. No real âita influences here. This is a much smoother chaâbi, with some traces of Andalusian melodies (see track 2), and orchestral flourishes that would be at home in Middle Eastern pop music or Moroccan chanson moderne. This sort of chaâbi typically bores me pretty quickly, but I must say Jadwane does it well and thoughtfully, and he has a lovely and sweet voice.

An interesting track here is "Oufigh Idjes Inmaden". It opens with a northern Moroccan style of melody and rhythm. Jedwane announces the title of the song in Arabic, "Lqit Bent Ennas", which he dedicates to Riyafa wherever they are, inside or outside of Morocco. Rather than singing in Arabic over this Riffi beat, though, Jedwane switches over to a standard chaâbi melody and rhythm, but starts singing in Tamazight (I assume it's the Riffi/Tariffit dialect.)

It's an unusual approach - for an Arabaphone chaâbi singer to translate an original song into Tamazight and sing in that language. As a way of evoking or playing across the linguistic and cultural divide, it certainly takes a greater commitment and effort than simply playing a Sousiya song and singing in Arabic, as I described some time ago. Jedwane thought enough of the work to include the lyrics on the j-card in both Arabic (Darija) and Tamazight (Tarifit).

This was not the first time he undertook such a project. His online biographies mention that in 1998 he spent 8 months on a translation of his song "Bghini Nebghik" into Tachelhit. [2] 

I know I was complaining last week about keyboard bass in chaâbi. This album is full of it, but it's used here unobtrusively, and quite nicely. 

There's another album of Jedwane's over at Moroccan Tapes and lots more at Ournia.

Jadwane - جدوان
Moul Enniya Kairbe7 - مول النية كيربح
Fes Maatic cassette
c. 2003

1) Moul Enniya Kairbe7 - مول النية كيربح
    Echafi3 Fina - لشافع فينا
    Hezzit Yedi Lessma - هزيت ايدي للسماء
2) Njerreb Zahri W Nsal - نجرب زهري و نسال
3) Oufigh Idjes Inmaden - وفيغ ادجس أنمدن

4) 3tit Lkelma ou Ndemt - عطيت الكلمة و ندمت
    Kayen Had Chi Wella La - كاين هاد الشي ولا لا
    Dima Halou Ki Houwa - ديما حالو كي هو
5) L3arousa Moulat Lhemma - لعروسة مولات الهمة

320 | FLAC

[1] Interview with Jedwane at Hespress.

[2] Biography of Jedwane at Music Chaabi.